Becoming a Better Developer in Six Months

  Everyone and their mother has already posted this type of post, but this time I need to keep track of the code/processes I WANT TO LEARN. I’m positive these will help me in my everyday career as well as for my own well being and knowledge. Some of these things I want to know/do just for myself, some are to make myself more of an asset.

Here they are, in no particular order:

• Andrew Kirillov’s AForge.NET Framework –
  • When I learn (and understand all of this), I’ll be a happy/smart man.
    • This code is just brilliant. Topics covered in the Framework:
      • Computer Vision
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • ImageProcessing
      • Neural Networks
      • Genetic Algorithms
      • Machine Learning
      • Motion Detection
• BlogEngine.NET –
  • I’ll probably be moving over to this blog engine soon enough. I enjoy all of Mads’ articles on his blog, so I can only imagine that this project is riddled with goodness.
• Finish my MCPD – Enterprise Application Developer Certification.
  • I’m already have my MCTS in Web Client Development so I’m only 3 exams away from finalizing this cert. This should only take about 3 months max.
  • There are debates all over the Internet about whether or not a cert helps you or not. I don’t really care about them because here’s my take –
    • If I truly pass all of these exams by reading the books and self study, I’m going to be a 10X better developer than if I didn’t read them. There are times when you will NEVER know about a feature of the framework, but these books and exams force you to learn them. Example: For the longest time I didn’t know about Isolated Storage and now that I do, I’ve used it on many occasions.
    • Also – I DO NOT use brain dumps for study material – I see this as a blatant slap in the face to true cert holders. Brain Dumps truly are cheating yourself. I use the book and MSDN and either Measure Up or Transcender for exam prep.
• Master WCF
  • This itself, it just crucial nowadays. SOA is here, and I only see it getting stronger. I’ve worked with WCF for a while, but I want to know this technology in and out like the back of my hand. I’ve worked with SOA for quite awhile with many clients, but WCF is where its at. The applications I’ve built with WCF are insanely fast and scalable. The more knowledge that is present in this area, the better off everyone is.
• Silverlight
  • This technology is just plain awesome. As Shawn Wildermuth said on DNR Episode 258 – its the perfect entry point into understanding WPF. I’m not using it to learn WPF, but that’s just an added bonus.
  • I’ve worked with Silverlight 1.0 and 1.1 and even created a few test projects. I’m in the midst of creating a new media site for Geffin Recording artist BLESTeNATION (good friends) in order to test out some new functionality.

There are a TON of other things that I really want to learn, but this is enough for the next six months for me.